Reynard's Tale: A Story of Love and Mischief by Ben Hatke (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Reynard's Tale: A Story of Love and Mischief by Ben Hatke Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Hatke, Ben Reynard's Tale: A Story of Love and Mischief; written and illus. by Ben Hatke. First Second, 2023 [80p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250857910 $22.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-10 Hatke takes a deft hand to his contribution to the stories of Reynard the Fox, the trickster at the center of a trove of medieval tales, bringing in familiars from the original sources and adding his own creations and sardonic edge. Readers first meet Reynard settling in around a campfire just as summer ends in the Borderlands, "that precarious space between civilization and the True Wild." A messenger crow and summons from the king, however, sets Reynard on the run, who first finds refuge (and wine and a good time) at the Inn at the Edge, but then flees again with the Clockwork Conjurer, facing memory stealers, Death herself, and eventually a lover he left behind. The pace is quick, the characters are memorable, and the narrative tone is a careful balance of folkloric formality with a gentle earnestness, allowing Reynard to be both tricksy and sympathetic. Hatke's signature art is all languid lines and loose angles, with crosshatching bringing textures and composition underscoring emotion: Death is elegant and looms large upon her arrival, for example, but her subsequent efforts to get Reynard into bed have a desperation as the scene homes in on the two. The target age is a bit ambiguous, as the writing itself skews young but the content older, but it would certainly make an entertaining and lovely companion to class units on medieval literature or folklore, while fans of Hatke's previous works will find his signature wit here. The final chapter sees Reynard tamed—at least temporarily—by the most unexpected of sources, a little child with a fox tail: "Love is like that, isn't it? … Always a surprise. Always a mystery." Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois